The present invention is directed toward the field of raceway or wire duct systems. In particular, a multiple device yoke is described for use in a raceway system having both high voltage power wires and low voltage communication wires. The multiple device yoke provides access to both high voltage and low voltage within a single yoke while maintaining channel separation of the high voltage and low voltage wires within the raceway system.
The need for varying types of electrical wiring in residential and commercial buildings have steadily increased. Electrical wiring is used to supply electricity to power electrical devices within a home or business and is used to carry low voltage signals that are used in providing many services such as telephone, intercom, cable television, video, music, alarm, internet access, and other computer network services. Surface raceway systems provide a convenient way to route electrical wiring both in new construction and in remodeling projects.
Access to multiple types of wiring within the raceway system is often needed at a single location. For example, a computer may require access to both power and telephone or other communication wires at a single location so that the computer can receiver power and can connect to an intranet or internet.
Presently known methods provide access to multiple types of electrical wires by using separate device yokes having a single type of electrical connector for each type of electrical wire accessed. If both low and high voltage wires need to be accessed at the same locations, at least two single device yokes are needed. For example, a single device power yoke with a power receptacle would be employed to provide access to power, a single device telephone yoke with a telephone connector would be provided to provide access to telephone services, and a single device cable television yoke with a cable television connector would be provided to provide access to cable television services. This method may be functional but suffers from many disadvantages. Space is wasted. This method is more expensive. The material cost is higher and it takes longer and is more expensive to install. Also, this method is less appealing aesthetically.
Presently known raceway systems that include both high voltage and low voltage wires in the same raceway system also use wide diameter raceways and typically divide the raceway system into separate channels of equal width. These raceway systems have channel widths that are wider than the device yokes and connectors that provide access to wires within the channel. Because power receptacles are wide, the channels containing power wires are wide. This results in lower utilization efficiency of the raceway system. Most often the high voltage channel does not have to be as wide as the power receptacle to house all of the power wires. The low voltage channel, on the other hand, generally requires more space in the raceway than the high voltage power wires. Therefore, greater utilization efficiency could be achieved if some of the space allocated to the high voltage wires could be utilized for low voltage wires. In addition, to meet Canadian standards, device yokes must also include grounding lugs which are not available in presently known raceway systems.
Therefore, there remains a need in this art for a multiple device yoke that can provide access to both high voltage power and a low voltage communication wire. There remains a more particular need in this art for a multi-device yoke that allows the end user to install low and high voltage connectors side by side using only one yoke. There remains a more particular need for a multiple device yoke that has an attached box to isolate the high voltage lines from the low voltage lines. There remains a more particular need for a multi-device yoke that has an attached box base which can be removed if not needed. There remains a further need for multiple device yoke that includes a grounding lug to provide extra safety. There remains a need for a multiple device yoke that can be used in narrow width raceway systems such as those that are around 4 inches or narrower. There remains a need for a multiple device yoke that can accommodate the apportioning of more than half of the raceway system to the low voltage communication wires while providing space for a high voltage power outlet.